Sensex falls 239 points, Nifty ends below 10,700; Rel Comm jumps 65%

Market Closing: Benchmark indices extended losses for the second consecutive session, tracking increase in crude oil prices that will hit fiscal deficit of the country.

The 30-share BSE Sensex was down 238.76 points at 35,149.12 and the 50-share NSE Nifty fell 58.40 points to 10,682.70, but the market breadth was positive. About 1,396 shares advanced against 1,217 declining shares on the BSE.

Market Update: Benchmark indices extended losses in late trade, with the Sensex falling 277.02 points to 35,110.86 and the Nifty declining 74 points to 10,667.10.

May 17, 03:16 PM (IST)

Take Solutions has reported a rise in Q4 profit to Rs 45 crore, an increase of over 8 percent. Operational performance is good as profit has risen 13 percent at Rs 90.5 crore while operating margin is reported at 19.9 percent.

May 17, 03:09 PM (IST)

Results: Gujarat Pipavav reported a fall of 27 percent in its net profit for the March quarter at Rs 48.6 crore against Rs 66.2 crore year on year. Operating profits have also fallen 19 percent at Rs 92.9 crore against Rs 14.6 crore during the corresponding quarter of last year.

May 17, 02:56 PM (IST)

Equity benchmarks have continued to trade lower for the second consecutive day as Sensex fell over 100 points. The Nifty was holding on to 10,700-mark. Among sectoral indices, IT is having a good day of trade, with Nifty IT trading 0.37 percent. Cuts are visible among FMCG names, led by a fall in ITC. Midcaps, however, are outperforming the benchmarks, trading over 0.4 percent higher. Coal India, Tata Motors, Bajaj Finserv and Bajaj Finance are the top gainers among both indices, while ITC, Bharti Airtel and Hindalco have lost the most. Sentiment on D-Street is also weighed on the fact that Brent crude has been nearing USD 80 per barrel, a level it has not seen since November 2014.

May 17, 02:39 PM (IST)

Buzzing : Skipper share price plunged 12 percent after the company's operational performance was dismal for the March quarter.

ADAG Stocks in Focus: Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG) stocks rallied by up to 50 percent intraday on a report of settlement talks between Reliance Communications and Ericsson over an insolvency plea filled by the latter.

Shares of Reliance Communications were up 8 percent, after having fallen 18 percent on Wednesday. The stock rallied after reports that the company would appeal to the National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) against the National Company Law Tribunal's (NCLT) decision to admit Ericsson's insolvency plea.

The NCLT had admitted the petition earlier this week. The Swedish communications equipment major is looking to recover dues of around Rs 1,150 crore from Reliance Communications and two of its subsidiaries.

Reliance Communications and Ericsson have now informed the NCLT that they are in talks for a settlement, according to a report by CNBC-TV18, which quoted sources as saying.

Operating profit more than doubled to Rs 173.7 crore from Rs 74.3 crore and margin improved to 12.1 percent from 7.3 percent YoY.

May 17, 01:48 PM (IST)

Market Update: The market continued to trade lower for the second consecutive session, with the Sensex falling more than 100 points after the crude oil prices inches up towards $80 a barrel as supplies tighten while demand remains strong.

Bhushan Steel in focus: The National Company Law Appellate Tribunal (NCLAT) will next week hear Bhushan Steel promotor Neeraj Singal's plea against acquisition of the company by Tata Steel.

Singal has sought a stay on the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) order approving Tata Steel's bid for the debt-ridden Bhushan Steel under corporate insolvency resolution process.

The petition was mentioned before an NCLAT bench headed by Chairman Justice S J Mukhopadhaya, which directed it to be listed on Monday for hearing.

Singal has also requested the appellate tribunal to maintain status quo over the company's shareholding. Singal holds around 22 per cent stake in Bhushan Steel, reports PTI.

May 17, 01:19 PM (IST)

Market Capitalisation: PNB Housing Finance is now more valuable than its parent company PNB which has seen its market capitalisation more than halve since being hit by a massive banking fraud allegedly carried out by diamantaire Nirav Modi and his uncle Mehul Choksi.

The market capitalisation of PNB Housing Finance stood at Rs 21,199.07 crore. The m-cap of Punjab National Bank was at Rs 20,842.33 crore.

PNB had m-cap of Rs 44,624.67 crore before the lender was hit by a nearly USD 2 billion fraud in which the billionaire jeweller Modi allegedly acquired fraudulent letters of undertaking (LoU) from one of its branches for raising overseas credit.

For the quarter ended March 31, PNB held 5,49,14,840 shares amounting to 60.33 per cent stake in PNB Housing Finance.

May 17, 01:01 PM (IST)

Crude Outlook: For the week ahead, Choice Broking expects Brent Crude Oil & WTI Crude oil futures to remain in the positive zone as the global demand for crude is estimated to be higher.

As per OPEC Monthly Oil Market Report, world oil demand growth for 2018 is forecasted to increase by 1.65 mb/d (million barrels per day) to average 98.85 mb/d. Growth was revised higher by 25 tb/d (Thousand barrels per day) compared with last month’s assessment. Oil demand growth in the non-OECD region was also revised upward, primarily on the back of better-than-expected data from other Asia, including India, and Latin America. China is projected to lead oil demand growth in 2018, followed by other Asian countries and OECD Americas.

Union Finance Minister Piyush Goyal said the banking sector is plagued by reckless lending under the previous government.

The RBI is diligently supervising to ensure orderly growth of banking industry and is trying to get banking system on its feet.

May 17, 11:56 AM (IST)

Market Update: The market is reeling under pressure with the Sensex falling 100 points as investors after digesting Karnataka election outcome started monitoring earnings, and movement in rupee and crude oil prices.

Depreciating rupee to pse challenges to economical solar tariffs: India Ratings and Research believes depreciating rupee, if unhedged, will impact investor returns in bid solar power projects in the event of a significant exchange rate variation between the time of bidding (bid assumptions) and finalisation of module supply agreement. The exchange rate deteriorated 5 percent YoY in May 2018, when the bids were hovering around INR2.5 per unit.

However, post module supply agreements, the developer may opt to hedge the exchange rate risk evaluating the costs involved.

As per the agency’s calculations, an Re 1 increase in USD/INR exchange rate leads to a 2 paisa/unit increase in tariff. For instance, if the rupee depreciates to Rs 67 from Rs 65 between the time of tariff bidding and finalisation of terms of payment for module supply (which can easily extend to six to eight months), the solar power developer (SPD) will suffer an overall 4 paisa/unit reduction in margin, which is significant considering the modest margins for SPDs, the rating agency said.

May 17, 11:39 AM (IST)

Buzzing: Banks are under pressure after the Karnataka CM B S Yeddyurappa announced farm waiver for one lakh farmers.

Banks, which are already bearing the burnt of asset quality concerns, are getting more pressure by such farm loan waiver.

May 17, 11:34 AM (IST)

Product Patents: Suven Life Sciences announced that the grant of two product patents from Australia and one product patent from Singapore corresponding to the New Chemical Entities (NCEs) for the treatment of disorders associated with Neurodegenerative diseases.

These patents are valid through 2034.

The granted claims of the patents include the class of selective H3 Inverse agonists and 5HT6 compounds respectively and are being developed as therapeutic agents for major depressive disorders and for the treatment of cognitive impairment associated with neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s disease, attention deficient hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), Huntington’s disease, Narcolepsy, Parkinson and Schizophrenia respectively, the company said.

Hindalco, Cipla, Tata Steel, BPCL are top losers among Nifty50, down up to 4 percent while Titan Company and Bharti Infratel gained more than a percent.

May 17, 9:57 AM (IST)

Buzzing: Tata Steel saw profit booking after opening higher as it reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 14,688 crore for the March quarter, as against a loss of Rs 1,168 crore in the same quarter last year, benefiting from a one-time gain of Rs 11,376.14 crore from the restructuring of its UK business' pension scheme.

The Jamshedpur-based company's consolidated revenue from operations for the reporting quarter grew to Rs 36,132 crore, up from the Rs 35,304.89 crore reported last year.

The company's total expenses rose to Rs 32,626.42 crore, around 5 percent higher than in the corresponding quarter last year. Cost of raw material, which accounts for the lion's share of overall expenses, rose only 4 percent on year to Rs 10,369.77 crore.

May 17, 9:44 AM (IST)

Market Update: The market consolidates, trading mildly higher as all sectoral indices are in the green barring metals.

The Nifty50 is hovering around 10,750 levels while the Nifty Midcap index is up fourth of a percent.

The market breadth remains strong as about two shares gained for every share falling on the BSE.

Tata Steel and Hindalco are top losers among Nifty50, down 2 percent each while TCS, HDFC Bank and ICICI Bank continue to support the market.

The company's unit-I at Choutuppal, Telangana had an inspection by USFDA from May 14-16.

This was a general cGMP inspection by the FDA and it has been concluded with no 483 observations.

The company's board meeting is scheduled to be held on May 26, 2018, to consider and approve standalone and consolidated audited financial results for the year ended March 31, 2018 and to recommend dividend, if any, on equity shares for the financial year 2017-18.

May 17, 9:31 AM (IST)

Buzzing: Shares of Granules India rose 2.3 percent as the company received USFDA approval for Methylergonovine tablets.

BS Yeddyurappa will be sworn-in as the chief minister of Karnataka at 9.00 am today after the Supreme Court refused to stay Governor's decision. However, the top court has kept it subject to the case outcome.

May 17, 9:12 AM (IST)

Capex: Sajjan Jindal-led JSW Steel today said the company has decided to invest an additional Rs 17,600 crore for increasing its steel capacity to 24.7 million tonne per annum (mtpa) by 2020.

"Looking at the domestic demand growth, we see a shortage of steel if we don't expand in the next two years," JSW Steel joint managing director and group chief financial officer Seshagiri Rao told reporters here while announcing almost two-fold rise in consolidated net profit to Rs 2,879 crore in the March quarter, against Rs 1,008 crore in the year-ago quarter.

"We have decided to expand our capacity from 18 mt (million tonne) to 24.7 mt, which includes addition of one mt at Vijaynagar and 0.67 mt at Dolvi unit, and also expand our downstream projects by 2020," he said.

The overall estimated capex plan of Rs 26,815 crore announced last year is expected to be enhanced by Rs 17,600 crore to implement new projects, Rao said, adding, "Overall, the company is now implementing a cumulative capex pipeline of Rs 44,415 crore by March 2020."

May 17, 9:09 AM (IST)

Market Update: Benchmark indices remained higher in pre-opening. The Sensex gained 95.74 points at 35,483.62 and the Nifty rose 34.50 points to 10,775.60 while Nifty Midcap index went up 0.34 percent.

Tata Steel, JSW Steel and Delta Corp gained more than a percent each.

May 17, 9:07 AM (IST)

Markets@Moneycontrol: Nifty likely to open flat; Bajaj Finserv, Escorts, JSW Steel to be in focus

The Nifty50 is likely to open on a flat note Thursday following muted trend seen in Asian stocks. The index closed down 60.80 points at 10,741.10 on Wednesday.

May 17, 9:07 AM (IST)

Indian Rupee: The rupee extended gains on Thursday morning, rising 5 paise to 67.74 against the US dollar.

The currency recovered sharply in previous session, closing up 31 paise at 67.79 a dollar after hitting 16-month low of 68.13 a dollar.